CHINA DAILY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010 dalianspecial 15 focuses on new engine for growth

By ZHU CHENGPEI the nation’s economic growth,” said AND CONG RONG Dai Yulin, vice mayor of Dalian and No 1 secretary general of CISIS.  e city of Dalian aims to become Dalian ranks No 1 in and Dai said CISIS has become the No 5 in the world, according to a world-class software city, said a report issued by the Interna- most influential software event in senior government officials at the tional Data Corporation on global China and an important platform of 8th China International Software delivery index in 2008. international cooperation and trade & Information Service Fair (CISIS), in the IT industry. which opened Tuesday in Dalian in More than 50 major multination- ’s province. 80 als, such as Intel, Microso , Oracle, “Dalian is currently among the The number of conferences, IBM, SAP and HP, set up pavilions best so ware cities in China, espe- forums and exhibitions at this at the fair. Major domestic IT com- cially in terms of software export year’s fair panies, including Lenovo, Neuso , and ,” said Xia Deren, UFIDA, Hualu, hiSo ,and DHC are secretary of CPC Dalian municipal also taking an active part in the fair. committee. 35,000 They will fully display the latest According to a report issued by the developing trends in the world so - International Data Corporation on square meters ware industry as well as the robust global delivery index in 2008, Dalian The exhibition area of development of China’s software ranks No.1 in China and No.5 in the this year’s fair industry. world. “The number of enterprises and

“We plan to build a world-class the coming 10 years,” he said. business people attending this year’s PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY industrial zone on the Lushun South fair has reached a record high,” Dai The China International Software and Information Service Fair 2010 opened Tuesday in Dalian. Road by 2020, with world-class Increasing infl uence said. output value and export volume,” As the only national-level so ware “Energy-effi cient, low-carbon and for China’s so ware sector. Cooperation Bureau. Liu said the past seven fairs have he said. fair approved by the State Council environmentally friendly products Senior government offi cials, lead- He said that a lot of foreign mul- not only contributed to the nation’s Xia pointed out that more and and a major global software event, and services will play a major role.” ers of major multinationals and tinationals, financial institutions, software sector development, but more multinationals are moving the annual CISIS has gained solid He said this year’s exhibition area IT professionals will gather in the outsourcing companies, software also have boosted the economic their outsourcing business to China recognition from home and abroad reaches 35,000 sq m, covering almost forum to discuss how to build a providers, software integrators, growth of Dalian. to reduce costs a er the global fi nan- since it was fi rst held in 2003. all fi elds of IT industry, including sys- green IT sector. telecommunication operators, man- Since 2003, over 50 major multina- cial crisis. This year’s fair, to be held from tem so ware, supporting so ware,  e other forums are held to exam- agement consulting companies and tionals have established their so ware At the same time, the domestic June 22 to 25, consists of over 80 application software, embedded ine the current situation of the IT sec- professional training institutions have or information service agencies here. so ware market has also expanded conferences, forums and exhibitions. software, system integration solu- tor from various perspectives so that poured into China in recent years. As an old industrial city in North- quickly.  e activities will cover the fi elds of tions, so ware information services, companies and business leaders can They have stimulated China’s east China, Dalian used to rely on Xia said Dalian is to adopt new software innovation, service out- telecommunication equipment, com- get a full understanding of the whole domestic so ware sector to establish the heavy chemical industry, which policies to encourage the develop- sourcing, industrial trends, copyright puter production and new media. sector and its developing trends. the systems of R&D, management, brought serious pollution. ment of the so ware sector, such as protection, project management and Visitors will see clearly the develop- market expansion, outsourcing and Today, the modern service indus- encouraging domestic companies to innovation. ing trend of the so ware industry and Room for development personnel training. try, represented by the so ware and go abroad to annex foreign so ware An IT project management forum experience the tremendous changes “ e change and upgrade of Chi-  e customer resources at CISIS information sector, has taken a domi- businesses and opening up new mar- and engineering innovation forum the software industry has brought na’s industrial structure has created a are shared by the so ware industry nant role in the city. kets at home. are to be held for the fi rst time. to society. big market demand, which provides nationwide. Delegations and enter- In 2009, the city’s software sales “We have seized the opportunities “The software and information The main forum, the Interna- tremendous room for software prises from China’s provinces and income reached 40 billion and brought by economic globalization service industry, which has acquired tional Software and Information technological innovation and appli- municipalities have signed numerous its so ware export volume hit $1.4 in the past 10 years and we will face a strategic position in China, is play- Services Forum and Entrepreneurs cation,” said Liu Dechun, director of cooperation or investment projects billion, an increase of more than 30 new challenges and opportunities in ing a significant role in promoting Summit, is the highest-level forum Dalian Foreign Trade and Economic with customers at each year’s fair. percent over 2008. Yida Group tycoon steers fl agship from realty to information technology

By ZHU CHENGPEI ture as very few people wanted sector that could win support to Xia Deren, then deputy- AND HUO YONGZHE to start private business at that from various levels of govern- mayor of Dalian and a profes- time, just six years a er China ment and with the potential sor at a renowned university. The definition of an entre- started its historic opening-up. for business with international Still, Sun remained auda- preneur in business textbooks The bold effort helped the giants, he said. cious, and the Dalian So ware is someone who pioneers inno- company that would become Sun’s outlook echoed the Park (DLSP) opened in a vation, starts new ventures and Yida earn 3.5 million yuan, city government’s drive to remote suburban wasteland has social responsibility. an unbelievable number at the transform Dalian from exces- in 1998. Judging from his odyssey time, almost equaling the total sive reliance on His fi rst and most diffi cult over the past 26 years, Sun Yin- annual income of 10,000 Chi- into a more environmentally breakthrough was its fi rst ten- huan, chairman of Yida Group, nese, who only made on aver- friendly place with an emphasis ant. It was Sun’s honesty and has those distinctive marks of age 300 to 400 yuan that year. on high-tech. sincerity that li ed Neuso ’s Guests at the China International Software and Information Service Fair 2010. entrepreneurship. Following two and a half doubts about coming to When Sun started his small decades of rapid growth, Yida Second phase Dalian, said Liu Jiren, chair- construction company with 50 is one of Dalian’s most success- Today Dalian has outpaced man of the , one of or so humble farmers in 1984, ful business conglomerates, and to China’s most renowned so - computer giant IBM had not now integrating construc- become a star outsourcing city, ware companies. Software park takes yet set up its first mainland tion, furnishings, real estate but the start was far from rosy Sun visited Liu on the third offi ce. development and equipment 12 years ago. day after Spring Festival — a Today Sun heads China’s manufacturing. Despite being expert in real Christmas-like time in China model to other cities most reputable so ware park Its revenue exceeded 1 bil- estate, Sun knew little of the when most Chinese stay home developer providing services lion yuan for the fi rst time in high-tech sector, especially for family gatherings — lob- By ZHANG XIAOMIN part of their work, which generates more to more than 500 high-tech 2000. It has also expanded into the then-unpopular software bying Liu to headquarter his business opportunities for the park’s tenants, firms, including 40 Fortune neighboring Russia’s Far East business. business in the DLSP.  e Dalian So ware Park (DLSP) is a core said Gao. 500 multinationals. region. And in the fi rst three years Neuso became the fi rst ten- project in the city’s eff orts to outpace other  e DLSP began moves to expand in 2003 Yet he remains very low Yet as an ambitious entre- he needed to invest 300 million ant in mid-1999, a year a er the destinations as a top choice for so ware out- when construction of its second phase began. profi le and says his success is a preneur, Sun began to look for yuan earned by his existing park opened for business. sourcing companies. Yida teamed with Kong’s leading prop- story of luck. something new. business at a time when the Following that precedent,  e transformation has been an enormous erty developer Shui On Group in 2007 for a 30- “We planned to tap into new total revenue generated from domestic so ware outsourcing success since the late 1990s, boosting Dalian’s 70 joint venture to develop part of the second Turning to high-tech markets since the early 1990s, the software in the city was startups and Japanese compa- revenues, improving its environment, trans- phase of the Dalian So ware Park. A Dalian native, Sun began when we had a sizeable stake in relatively tiny — less than 200 nies rushed to the park for its forming the city and setting the competitive Shui On will lead the planning, project man- building houses and buildings real estate, ” said Sun. million yuan in 1998. low costs and abundant profes- landscape for industrial innovation. agement, quality assurance, sales and market- in suburban areas of the city in That new market had to Sun’s move was risky and not sionals fl uent in Japanese.  ough gaining market share both country- ing while Yida Group is mainly be responsible 1984. It was a courageous ven- be sustainable, in a high-tech obviously promising, according Nokia become the fi rst For- wide and globally, today the DLSP faces a slew for construction management. tune 500 company to set up an of new competitors such as Nanjing, With total fl oor space of about 3.54 million offi ce in the DLSP in 2000. and Beijing — in addition to longstanding sq m, the 30 billion yuan Dalian Tiandi project As a market-oriented outsourcing giant in India. is a sprawling integrated development with res- private operation with State But many analysts believe Dalian has struck idences, so ware offi ces and commercial and assistance, the DLSP expanded gold with its two-frontier strategy emphasiz- retail property, along with educational and quickly due to preferential tax ing both the -led East Asia market and R&D facilities, outdoor recreation and other policies, low land costs and English-speaking countries. public amenities. assistance with infrastructure  e DLSP will further li its quality of ser-  e project represents only a part of DLSP’s development. Management vices to consolidate its position as China’s lead- 133 sq km second phase, with other projects of the park is run privately ing high-tech park developer and become an including joint ventures with Singapore com- according to market-driven even bigger offi ce for global players, according mercial developer Ascendas and domestic rules. to Gao Wei, DLSP president. so ware giant Neuso . DLSP is now China’s largest Despite the financial turmoil of the past Apart from development in Dalian, Yida so ware park with the largest two years, the park’s business has continued to plans to replicate the business model in other number of international play- grow with international fi rms such as Genpact regions by establishing joint ventures with a ers. Big names like Citibank, opening new offi ce buildings and newcomers number of local governments.  e group has Intel and Genpact all have including CISCO, So bank and Sompo Japan now established park operation in , operations in the park. Insurance establishing operations. and . Wuhan Optical Valley Scheduled for completion in 2014, construction on Yidatec Valley, another software and It is home to 500 of the city’s  e fi nancial crisis has put pressure on mul- So ware Park now has more than 110 enter- information industry park, started on Monday. 800 so ware fi rms. tinationals to further cut costs by outsourcing prises and 12,000 workers.

DLSP won a LivCom Award endorsed by UNEP in 2009.